Process for producing white woolen goods.



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Search ALBERT E. GARRET'LDF YAVERLAND, s ALBANS, ENGLAND.

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING WHITE WOOLEN GOODS.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT EDWARD GAR- RETT, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of Yaverland, Clarence Road,'St. Albans, in the county of Hertford, England, analyst, have invented a certain new and useful Improved Process for Producing \Vhite Woolen Goods, of which the following is a specification.

Th1s invention relates to the production of whlte woolen goods. Various methods are known of bleaching woolen goods, and

one of these methods is to use hydrogen peroxid, with or without subsequent stoving of the goods with sulfur dioxid. Hitherto, however, this method of bleaching has not found much favor as it is slow and expensive to apply, and unless great care is taken the goods are liable to be irregularly bleached, giving a blotchy appearance. Hence, the bleaching'methods most generally employed have been those using reducing agents, but they are not by any means permanent, and the goods are liable to return to their natural color after washing a few present invention, to the production of white woolen goods such as underwear.

, The goods are first scoured and may then be rendered unshrinkable by treatment in a chlorin bath in the known manner, if this is desired. After the chlorination the goods are scoured in order to remove superfluous chemical reagents. A weak bath of hydrogen peroxid is prepared, and although the strength of this bath may vary, it will never contain more than 1% of H 0 lO-volumestrength hydrogen peroxid contains about 3% of H 0 and by way of example 1t may be mentioned thata 10 per cent. solution of10-volume-strength hydrogen peroxid (containing therefore about 0.3% of H 0 has given satisfactory results in prac- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

Application filed August 30, 1916. Serial No. 117,676.

tice. The bath is kept at a luke-warm temperature, and at any rate not higher than 50 C., the goods being steeped in the bath for a few minutes until they are thoroughly saturated with the solution. They are then squeezed out and immersed at once in another bath containing a weak'solution of ammonia. As an example of the strength of this bath, it may be mentioned that 4 or 5 cubic centimeters of concentrated (0.880) ammonia per liter of water at 50 centigrade will give good results. To this bath may alsobe added four or five grams of a pure soap per liter, the function of the soap probably being to act as a detergent in order to permit the ammonia to be fully uti lized in reacting with the hydrogen peroxid. The goods are not left in the ammonia bath but are merely dipped into it to saturate them with the ammonia solution, and are then squeezed out at once. They are hung up to dry for any suitable period of time, say from one to two hours, and during this period the ammonia remaining on the goods reacts with the hydrogen peroxid thereon,

causing oxygen to be released in the nascent state and to effect the bleaching action. When this has taken place to a satisfactory extent, the goods are cleared in a thorough manner and finally scoured, dried and finished by pressing.

By the use of the ammonia bath according to this invention, the action of the hydrogen peroxid is greatly accelerated and the result attained is more satisfactory than that obtainable by any other known process of bleaching using an oxidizing agent. After the bleaching with peroxid as above set forth, the whiteness of the goods is rather improved than otherwise by subsequent Washing, so that the bleach can be regarded as a permanent one.

The goods may be stoved if desired after Room the bleaching with peroxid, and after they have been cleared but before the final scouring, drying and. finishing. It is found that stoving at this stage for a short time (in sulfur dioxid), gives a rather brighter white than can be attained by the peroxid bleachingalone, but the white will probably not be so permanent as a rule after stoving.

It may be sufficiently permanent however for 7 practical purposes, and the oxidlzing bleaching actionproduced by the peroxid is not destroyed by stoving at this stage.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A process of bleaching White woolen goods consisting in immersing such goods in a weak solution of hydrogen peroxid, squeezing out the goods, dipping them in a weal ammonia solution, squeezing out the goods agaln, and hanglng them up for a per1odduring which a reaction of the ammoniawith the hydrogen peroxid takes place.

2. A process of bleaching White woolen goods consisting in immersing such goods in a weak solution of hydrogen peroxid not eX- ceeding a strength of l per cent, squeezing out the goods, dipping them in a Weak ammonia solution, squeezing out the goods again, and hanging them up for a period during which a reaction of the ammonia with the hydrogen peroxid takes place.

3. A process of bleaching White woolen goods consisting in immersing such goods in a weak solution of hydrogen peroxid, squeezing out the goods, dipping them in a weak ammonia solution containing approximately 5 cublc centimeters of concentrated ammonia I per liter of water and maintained at approximately 50 (3., squeezing out the goods again, and hanging them up for a period during which a reaction of the ammonia with the hydrogen peroxid takes place.

4. A process of bleaching white Woolen goods consisting in immersing such goods in 5. A process of bleaching White woolen goods consisting in immersing such goods in a weak solution of hydrogen peroxid, squeezing out the goods, dipping them in a weak ammonia solution containing approximately 5 cubic centimeters of concentrated ammonia per liter of water and approximately 5 grams r of pure'soap per liter and maintained at approximately 50 (3., squeezing out the (goods,

and hanging them up for a period uring which a reaction of the ammonia with the hydrogen peroxid takes place.

ALBERT E. GARRETT. 

